Fast Cars and Freedom
by TeejayH
Summary: College AU: It was the second week of summer and Regina just happened to wander into the diner in Santa Monica where Emma was holding down a summer job. Though she's just a scholarship kid from Bakersfield and Regina from Bel Air, there's no way this could just be 'summer love.' POSSIBLE RATING CHANGE IN LATER CHAPTERS
1. Chapter 1

The sun was already coming through the window when Emma's phone vibrated, letting her know that it was time for her to get up. She groaned as her hand fumbled around the bed trying to find the irritating thing that had burst in at a perfect moment in her dream. Buried deep under the covers, Emma found her phone and stared at the screen. The screen flashed '9:15' at her and Emma bolted upright in her bed. 'Shit.' She cursed and threw herself out of bed. 'Shit. Shit. Shit.' She repeated as she quickly reached for the closest pair of jeans she could find, fumbled to find her work shirt, and then quickly threw on her trusty black combat boots. She ran over to the sink at the other side of the room as quickly as she could and brushed her teeth in record time before throwing her long, blonde hair back into a sloppy ponytail.

Emma grabbed her backpack and her bike before she locked the door behind her and practically sprinted down the hall. It was now 9:28, if she could make it to the bus stop within the next five minutes, she could probably still make it to work on time. Luckily, the restaurant was only a few minutes from where the bus dropped her off. _Ugh, I need to get better at saying "no" to Ruby.'_Emma thought as she made it to the stop just as the bus was pulling up and placed her bike on the rack at the front before boarding.

She looked at her phone again once she sat down, 9:31. She let out a long breath and let her head fall back against the back of the seat. She might be able to actually pull this off. She really would hate to be late, especially because it was only her second week of work and she really needed this job. She was grateful that Ruby had talked her grandmother into letting Emma have a job for the summer. Without her work-study program during the year, there was no way Emma could have afforded to stay in her apartment without the Lucas family, once again, being so generous and helpful. Plus, it was cool to be able to hang out at the beach all summer, even though it was behind the counter of a diner.

It was ten minutes after ten when Emma skidded to a halt in front of the diner and locked her bike to the parking sign outside the restaurant. She threw open the door and ran behind the counter, dropping her backpack underneath it and grabbing her apron from when she had stashed it yesterday. 'You're late, girl.' Emma heard from the kitchen, and then turned to find Mrs. Lucas, or 'Granny,' as everyone called her. She had owned this diner since she took over for her mother before her. She was nice enough, but if there was one thing she didn't tolerate, it was tardiness.

'I'm sorry, Granny. I missed the bus.' Emma lied. She didn't want her to know that she had actually just hit the 'snooze' button a few too many times in her sleep.

Granny hurumphed to herself. 'And I'm sure that granddaughter of mine had nothing to do with it.' She said. 'You're a nice girl, Emma, and I love my granddaughter, but I'd hate for her laziness rub off on you too much.'

'No need to worry about that, Granny.' Emma assured her with a smile.

'I hope so.' Granny eyed Emma suspiciously, but then disappeared into the kitchen. Emma got to work brewing a fresh pot of coffee and wiping down the counter. The first shift had just left and they were usually pretty good about cleaning up for the second shift, but since Emma was already in a little bit of trouble she wanted to make sure everything was perfect if Granny were to leave her post in the kitchen.

About ten minutes into her shift, the door bell rang and Emma looked up to see a girl with short brown hair wearing an expensive looking, black maxi-dress and oversized sunglasses walk in. The dark haired girl took a seat at the counter, took her headphones out of her ears before winding them up and putting them into her purple, patent leather handbag. 'Hey! What can I get ya?' Emma asked and the girl looked up to meet Emma's green eyes. Emma's breath hitched when she did. _Oh fuck!_ _Hey there, gorgeous._ Emma thought to herself.

The girl across the counter looked up at the black boards above the counter with the fare listed on them. 'Um, just a cup of coffee for now. I'm waiting for my mother and I don't know how much time I have.' She said as she rolled her eyes slightly and looked at her black and rose gold watch. Then, she looked up and smiled at Emma.

'You got it, gorgeous!' Emma said and slapped her hand lightly on the counter. The other girl cocked her eyebrow curiously at Emma. As she turned away from the counter, she shook her head at herself slightly. _Smooth, Swan. Real smooth. This is why we don't have a girlfriend._ Emma chided herself as she went about the business of getting the girl her coffee. When she turned back around, she reminded herself to be cool otherwise not only might she freak the girl out, but could probably lose out on a tip of any kind. 'One coffee. Would you like any cream or sugar?'

'Um,' The other girl began, 'do you have soy milk or almond milk, by any chance?' She asked and then nervously ran her fingers through her hair. _Adorable, _Emma thought.

'Yeah we've got something like that.' Emma said as she turned around to the refrigerator behind her. 'It's unsweetened, though. I hope that's not a problem cause it's all we've got.' Emma offered the other girl a smile.

The girl returned Emma's smile. 'That's perfectly fine, thank you.'

'Not a problem.' Emma said as she handed the carton of soy milk to her. 'Let me know if there's anything else you need.' Emma then spun on her heel and walked to the other end of the counter and desperately looked for something that she could pretend to be busy with. After finding a few sugar containers that looked like they needed filling, Emma went to the back to grab the large bags of sugar that she could use to refill them.

When she was headed back to man the counter, she heard the bell at the door ring again and picked up her pace. She knew that one of the other servers would help her out with the counter if she had to step away for a second, but she was kind of hoping to steal one more look at the gorgeous brunette before she left. 'Regina, there you are, darling.' A voice that Emma hadn't heard before said as she rounded the corner and saw an older brunette sitting next to the girl who had previously been alone at the counter. 'I thought you and I were going to have brunch and you disappeared.' The older woman was holding various shopping bags on both arms and she took a second to place them on the floor before checking her watch that was almost identical to the younger girl's beside her.

'I told you I was going next door to get a cup of coffee and wait for you, mother.' The young girl's posture had visibly straightened since her mother arrived.

'Well, yes, I suppose, but then you didn't answer your phone and I had to come over here to fetch you.' The woman seemed irrationally annoyed. 'Now come along. We have reservations for 11 on Sunset and you know how mad traffic can be at this time of day. Plus, the car is already waiting outside.' The older woman didn't even bother so much of a glance at Emma before she picked up her bags and began to walk towards the door.

Emma looked at the girl still seated there and she returned Emma's gaze with an almost apologetic look. 'How much do I owe you for the coffee?' She asked as she stood up and began to rummage through her handbag to find her wallet, Emma presumed.

Emma raised her hand to stop her. 'First one's on the house.' The smile that the girl gave her in return made Emma's hear skip a beat.

'Thank you very much,' She eyed Emma's name tag, 'Emma.' And then with a turn she was headed towards the door after her mother.

'Have a good day!' Emma called out after her. _Regina, _Emma finished in her head. _Fuck, I'm such a loser_. Emma thought to herself and scrubbed a hand over her face.

'We'll never pull in a profit if you keep giving coffee away to every skirt that comes into this place, girl.' Emma heard Granny say from the kitchen window.

'Yeah. Yeah.' Emma rolled her eyes and continued to fill the sugar containers while she waited for the lunch rush to begin and tried not to let herself day dream about the beautiful brunette from before. _Regina._ She reminded herself. _Her name is Regina. _


	2. Chapter 2

When Emma got off work around seven, she got on her bike and rode a few blocks through the Santa Monica streets. She had promised Ruby, who lived over on that part of town, that she would hang out after work to grab a few drinks. Apparently, the live music at whatever bar it was that they were going to do was pretty good. Actually, what Ruby had said was, 'The drinks are strong and the chick who plays music there on Thursday night is bangin.' So, Emma figured there was no harm in going and hanging out for a while. Even though the last time that she had hung out with Ruby when she didn't have work the next day Emma ended up having to toss her bicycle into the back of an uber and spent half of her weeks wages to get home. _Not going to happen this time_. Emma assured herself.

Emma arrived at the bar, which was in the basement of an old brick building in Venice. She had been there a few times, but not as many times as Ruby, who always seemed to know every barman in town. A fact that always had Emma shaking her head at her leggy friend. Emma looked around the room and spotted Ruby leaning over the bar giving the barman a kiss on the cheek. She turned and noticed Emma standing awkwardly at the bottom of the stairs. 'Oi, Swan!' She shouted and waved her over.

'Hey, Rubes!' Emma said as Ruby leaned in and kissed her on both cheeks before pulling her into a hug.

'You made it!' Ruby all but squealed. 'I didn't think that Granny was going to let you out on time.'

'Well, here I am!' Emma smiled. 'I'm just going to go and change out of my work shirt. Give me a sec, will ya?'

'Sure thing, babes. Do you want a beer?' Ruby called after her.

'Please!' Emma called back. Once in the bathroom, she washed her face and changed her shirt. She attempted to tame the now frizzy mess of her hair, but opted to just pull it back in another ponytail because one thing she had learned throughout her life was that, most of the time, there was no taming that mess. So, instead she threw her backpack over her shoulder and walked out of the bathroom to rejoin her friend.

'Here you are, my darling!' Ruby said to Emma as she handed her a full pint of lager.

Emma took a generous sip of the golden liquid and closed her eyes as the tension slowly began to leave her body. 'Gods, I needed this.' Emma admitted.

'I told you Granny was a hardass when I got you the job!' Ruby reminded Emma.

'No, it's not just that. The job is fine. I'm just still stressing about school.' Emma said. 'I still haven't heard anything about whether or not my grant is going to be renewed and that B minus I got in maths might have affected my scholarship. If I don't get that money, Rubes, I might have to take a semester off from school.'

'Hey hey, Em, you'll be fine.' Ruby threw an arm around her friend. 'You're a resourceful little street rat. You'll be fine, I promise.' The taller girl kissed Emma on her cheek and pulled her close. Emma smiled at the term of endearment. Ruby had always been the only friend that Emma had that not only knew about her past, but didn't use it as a reason to pity her. 'Now, seriously, you have to see this chick. I think her set's about to start. Totally your type. Like whoa!'

Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head at her friend's relentless quest to hook her up with someone, and followed Ruby to one of the tables closer to the small stage in the corner of the bar. They sat there for a few more minutes and Ruby let Emma know about what she had missed when she had left early from the bar downtown the night before. Apparently, one of the guys they had been chatting to had a Maserati. 'Still not enough to get me in his bed.' Emma laughed into her beer.

'Oh, I know but man he was trying hard.'

'Haha, he was, wasn't he?' Emma laughed harder. 'Men can be so blind sometimes.'

'Yes, yes we know. Emma Swan is hella gay and everyone knows it.' Ruby laughed at her friend and stuck her tongue out. 'I'm still thinking of getting you that shirt to wear out, by the way!'

'Yeah I don't think a shirt that says "no one knows I'm a lesbian" is necessarily my style.' Emma grimaced.

'Yeah probably not.' Ruby agreed. 'Oh shit, that's her, Em! What did I tell ya? Totes your type.' Ruby pointed towards the stage.

Emma turned her head towards the stage and almost couldn't believe who she saw there. 'Regina.' She hadn't realised she'd said out loud.

'Yeah Regina something.' Ruby agreed. 'You know her?' She cocked an eyebrow in Emma's direction.

'No, I don't. Well, not really.' Emma stumbled, which only made her friend eye her more suspiciously. 'I mean she came into the diner earlier today. But that's it.' Emma hid her embarrassment at her own rambling and the slight flush on her cheeks in her beer.

'And you run into her _twice_ in one day!' Ruby gasped. 'Oh my god this is perfect! You have to talk to her when she's done playing!'

Just as Ruby said that, Regina sat down on the small stage and quickly ran her fingers over her vintage looking acoustic guitar. 'Good to see you all again.' She said quietly. 'How about I start us off slow with some Dylan?' She then began to play and Emma swore that if she hadn't already been transfixed with her, she definitely was now. Regina's voice was smooth, a lovely alto voice and she could play guitar like she had been playing the instrument her entire life. Emma knew she was in trouble. There was no way that this was going to end well.

Emma couldn't tell how many songs she had simply sat and watched Regina play, but suddenly there was a set of long fingers snapping in front of her face. She turned to see Ruby on the other side of the table with an amused look on her face. 'Sorry, what's up?'

'I asked if you'd like another beer.' Ruby laughed at her friend's aloofness.

'I'll get this round.' Emma offered as she stood up. 'You want the same?'

Ruby simply nodded her head and watched Emma practically tear herself away from watching Regina sing. 'Two lagers, please.' Emma said to the barman before turning back to the stage. She hadn't realised that it must have been the break in Regina's set as she walked to the bar and found herself scanning the room for her. _Get yourself together, Swan. _Emma chided herself.

'Here you are, love.' The barman said as he handed Emma the two drinks she had asked for and just as she was about to pay him for the fare, he turned to someone next to her and said, 'You want the usual, darling?'

'Please, Tony. Thank you!' A familiar voice replied. Emma turned to see Regina standing almost next to her at the bar. It wasn't until Regina turned towards her that Emma realised she was staring. Regina cocked an eyebrow at her.

'Uh.' Emma stuttered and in the process spilled her drink on herself. 'Shit.' She exclaimed, embarrassment flushing her cheeks.

Regina simply laughed and grabbed a few napkins from behind the bar. 'Here you go.' She said as she handed them to Emma. 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.'

'Oh. No, no you didn't. I'm just…I'm just clumsy.' Emma laughed as she attempted to wipe the spilled beer off of her. 'Thank you.'

'No, it's okay, honestly. I have quite the penchant for being a bit of a klutz myself.' Regina smiled and Emma felt it in her chest.

'Great set, by the way.' Emma said as she tried to be as cool as she could. 'You've got a beautiful voice.'

Regina tilted her head and studied Emma's face. 'Thank you. Do I know you?' She corrected herself at her bluntness. 'I mean you just look so familiar.'

'You came into my diner this morning.' Emma said as she took a drink of her beer and then immediately choked as she realised what she'd said. 'I mean the diner that I work at. I don't own it.'

'Right!' Regina smiled. 'I thought you looked familiar. What was your name again?'

'Emma.' Emma went to offer her hand to Regina but realised that it was covered in beer and retracted it as quickly as she had offered.

Regina just smiled and bit the corner of her lip. 'Right. Emma. Nice to meet you again. I'm Regina.' This time it was Regina who offered her hand and tried not to laugh when Emma wiped her hand on her dark wash jeans before accepting the handshake. 'Well, I've got to get back up there. Are you going to stick around? Maybe we can grab another drink when I'm done.'

'Yeah…' Emma stuttered, 'I'll be around.'

'Great.' Regina smiled at Emma's nervousness. 'Nice to properly meet you, Emma.' And with that she sauntered back up to the stage.

'So, it looks like I was right.' Emma heard Ruby say from behind her.

'Hm?' Emma said without turning around.

'Oh my god, lets go sit down, crazy!' Ruby laughed as she grabbed her drink in one hand and Emma's arm in the other and dragged her back to their table.

Regina's set lasted about forty-five minutes more and during that time both Ruby and Emma had gotten up once to get more drinks. 'I'm going to go outside and have a smoke!' Emma said to her friend as she stood and fished her pack of smokes out of her backpack.

'One of these days, I'm going to finally convince you to quit those things.' Ruby swore.

'What can I say? It adds to my "street rat" persona.' Emma said with a wink and then walked up the stairs to the outside of the bar.

Once outside, Emma lit up her smoke and leaned against the cool brick facade of the building. Even in summer, it was cold at the beach at night and the evening sea breeze made Emma wish that she had brought a hoodie or a sweater of some sort. 'And here I thought you'd run out on that drink you'd promised me.' Emma heard a voice say to her left and jumped slightly at the sudden break in her peace. Emma opened her eyes and saw Regina standing next to her with the same purple handbag from earlier in the day on her shoulder and her guitar case in hand. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, again.' She apologised.

'No, it's ok.' Emma smiled. 'I guess I can also add jumpy to the list of my more attractive qualities.' She inwardly made a face at her use of the word 'attractive,' but there was no taking it back now.

Regina laughed slightly and tucked a stray piece of raven hair behind her ear. 'I guess so.' She agreed.

Emma snuffed her cigarette on the bottom of her boot and flicked it into the bin to her left. 'So, can I buy you that drink?' She asked.

As soon as the words had left Emma's mouth, the Bach Cello Suite #1 Prelude filled the air. Regina fished through her bag and pulled out her phone. Disappointment crossed her face as she looked at the lit up screen. 'Will you excuse me for a moment?' She asked.

'Yeah sure. Go ahead.' Emma replied to her, waving off any hint of impoliteness.

Regina stepped a few feet away from Emma and took the phone call. Not that she was watching, per say, but Emma saw Regina's shoulders slump as she spoke to whomever was one the other end of the phone. 'Yes, I'm aware.' She said flatly. 'Of course. Is he on the way now? Oh.' Regina turned her head to scan the street and Emma turned, as well, to see a black town car pull up across the street. 'Never mind, I can see him. Yes, I'm on my way back.' With that , Regina ended the call and then turned back to Emma, who quickly tried to pulled out her phone and pretended to text. She had to admit that even to her it was unconvincing.

'I apologise, Emma, but it seems we're going to have to have that drink some other time.' Regina said as she replaced her phone in her handbag.

'Oh.' Emma tried to hide the disappointment in her voice. 'Don't worry about it! I completely understand.'

'It was nice to see you again, Emma.' Regina said as she met Emma's eyes. 'I hope to run into you sometime soon.'

Before Emma could even reply, Regina was looking both ways and sprinting across the street to where a man in a black suit was holding the back door to the town car open. She handed him her guitar case and he closed the door before opening the boot and placing the case inside. And just like that, she was gone. _Fuck! I didn't get her number. _Emma thought as her left hand flew up to cover her face. Crestfallen, Emma turned back towards the building and back down the stairs to the bar.

When she returned, she found Ruby had pulled up another chair to the small table they had been sitting at and now had her arm around the bartender from before who was occupying it. 'Hey, Ems! Where's Miss Hotstuff?' Emma immediately recognised that the new nickname was for Regina. 'I thought she was going to join us!'

'She had to go.' Emma said as she picked up her beer and finished what was left in one long gulp, then put it back on the table with a little more force than she had intended.

'Did you get her number at least?' Ruby wondered.

Emma didn't reply. Instead she just stared blankly at her friend in a manner that simply said, _'What do you think?'_

'Don't worry, babes!' Ruby reached across the small table and patted Emma's hand. 'You two ran into each other twice in one day. I'm sure you'll see her again.' Emma smiled back at her friend, grateful for the reassuring words. 'But, in the meantime, how do you feel about a whiskey shot? It'll take the edge off!'

Before Emma could reply, Ruby was already up and headed towards the bar. And for a second, Emma let herself hope her friend was right.


	3. Chapter 3

Emma woke up face down on her bed in the same clothes, she noticed, that she was wearing the night before. There was a person snuggled up against her side, but as she turned, to her relief, it was just Ruby who was snoring softly against her shoulder. Emma laughed to herself. She tried to recall the events of the previous night after Regina had left, but found that there were very few memories after three whiskey shots and however many pints they had all had. 'Rubes.' She nudged her friend. 'Hey, Rubes!' She shoved harder.

'Jesus, Emma, let it go.' Ruby grumbled and then turned over.

'Can you hand me my phone?' Emma asked. With that, Ruby all but Hulk armed Emma's bedside table and fumbled about before finding the object that Emma had asked her for.

'Here.' She spat out.

Emma didn't respond. Instead, she checked the time. 'Hey, it's fucking midday.' Emma laughed.

'Shut up, neither one of us has anything to do today.' Ruby said into Emma's spare pillow.

'True, but I should go and pick up my pay check. So, you're going to have to move your arse!' Emma laughed and then nudged Ruby with her elbow.

Unfortunately for Ruby, the motion ended up with her falling on her arse on the hardwood floor. 'Urgh. Swan!' She said while she pushed back her long brown hair that had fallen in front of her face from the force of the fall. 'If I wanted this kind of treatment, I'd stay at home with my own house mates.'

'Yeah. But you're here now with me and you know I'm adorable!' Emma tried to give her her best smile.

'You're lucky I love you!' Ruby threatened from the pillow she had just palmed off the bed and, subsequently, buried her face in.

'Can't argue with you!' Emma agreed. 'Wait…how did we get home last night?' Emma asked, all bits of hungover draining from her voice.

'What do you mean?' Ruby asked as she picked up her head and stared back at her.

'I mean how did we get home last night?' Emma asked again.

'Yeah, I heard that bit.' Ruby acquiesced. 'You drove us home.'

'Me?'

'Yeah! You!' Ruby sat straight up. 'You told me you were fine!'

'Fuck! Ruby, you have to stop letting me do that!' Emma fell back into her pillow.

'Well, maybe if you weren't such a convincing sober when you're drunk.' Ruby sighed. 'But, yeah we have to stop doing that.'

'So…'Emma began, 'can you drive me to the diner to pick up my check?' Emma then leaned over the bed and smirked at her friend.

'Ugh! Five more minutes, Swan!' Ruby shouted before hitting Emma with her pillow. 'Move over.' Ruby then settled back into the bed and settled herself against Emma's shoulder.

Instead of the five minutes, it ended up being about an hour before both Emma and Ruby were headed out to the street to try and find Ruby's car. 'I swear we parked it here.' Emma offered.

'Yeah, says the one who drove us home drunk last night.' Ruby sighed.

'Aha!' Emma shrieked when she spotted Ruby's BMW just where she had thought she had left it. 'I told you I wasn't as drunk as you thought I was.'

'Yeah, say that to the cops when you get a DWI, babes.' Ruby said while she ran her fingers through her long brown hair. 'But, honestly, could you drive to Granny's? I feel like I'm going to vom.'

'I guess it's only fair!' Emma smiled.

'Ugh don't smile like that. You're making me sick.' Ruby said, sliding into the passenger seat.

'For someone who claims she can drink anyone under the table,' Emma teased, 'you sure are a whiner, Rubes!'

'Just drive the car.' Ruby said, burying her head in her hands.

They drove towards the beach and Emma parked the car in the private lot at Granny's diner. 'You going to be ok to get home from here?' Emma asked her friend. She was met with merely a hand wave instead of an answer, but Emma took it for what it was. She knew Ruby was probably going to sleep it off in the car for the next hour or so and then drive back to her flat about fifteen blocks away. Hence the reason why Emma had parked the car in the shade.

Emma walked around the corner and in through the front door of the diner where she saw Granny pouring Regina a cup of coffee. 'See,' Granny said, 'I told you she'd be around sometime today.'

Emma stopped dead in her tracks. There she was in the same clothes from last night and properly smelling like a liquor store and there sat the girl she couldn't get her mind off of. It took Emma a moment to realise that it was she that Granny was referring to, but once she saw both Regina and Granny looking at her expectantly, the best thing she could offer was, 'Hi!'

Regina laughed and in that moment Emma reminded herself to put that in her memory as one of the best sounds she had ever heard. 'Hi.' Regina said through her laughter.

'Well, now that you two are reunited. Have you seen my granddaughter?' Granny said as she turned to Emma.

'Yeah she's out back asleep in her car.' Emma said without thinking, her eyes still locked on Regina's smile.

'In my LOT?' Granny began to shout.

Emma ran her fingers through her long, tangled hair. 'Maybe.' She offered.

'I swear you girls are going to kill me.' Granny said and then was gone. Presumably to wake Ruby up and make her work if she was just going to sleep in the lot all day.

It was once they were alone that Emma realised she should probably say something to Regina, but before she had a chance the brunette spoke up. 'I was so sorry for running out on you last night. I hope you don't think it weird that I came back to where you work.'

Emma laughed. 'No seriously, I was just angry that I didn't get your number before you left.' Regina raised her eyebrow at her statement. 'I mean I just…fuck.' Emma stumbled as she attempted to backtrack.

'Well I shouldn't have been so rude as to not give it to you.' Regina smirked.

_Crash! _There was a crash heard from the back that made both of them jump. 'Honestly, we should get out of here before we both have to deal with an hungover Ruby and angry Granny fight.' Emma said. Regina looked at her with a confused look on her face. 'Wanna get a taco from the best taco truck you've ever been to?' Emma offered.

Regina thought for a moment, more to make Emma squirm than anything else, and then nodded her head, 'Why not?' She said and then got up from her chair.

Once outside, Emma picked up her pace to get away from the diner and Regina matched her pace. 'I'm not stalking you by the way.' Regina interjected.

'I'm sorry?' Emma said, choking on laughter.

'I just wanted to let you know that I'm not stalking you.' Regina reiterated. 'I just felt bad for running out on you last night and wanted to try and see you again. Please let me know if I'm overstepping.'

Emma snorted. 'Okay, your majesty, I'll be sure to let you know.'

Regina stopped walking. 'Why would you say that?'

Emma turned around and smiled. 'Oh come on! I was just making a joke. I think it's cute you're a stalker.'

'Once again, I'm not a stalker.' Regina said as she crossed her arms and followed after Emma.

Emma stopped and waited for her to catch up a pace before nudging Regina with her shoulder and responding, 'Whatever you say, your majesty!'

Regina didn't respond this time. Instead, she merely bumped Emma's shoulder back and continued in her stride, matching Emma's pace.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **

**Hello, lovelies! So so so so sorry that this has taken me so long to update. I kind of lost my inspiration for this story for a minute there. Plus, work has been stupid crazy and I've been dealing with some personal stuff. But don't worry, I'm going to try and update this more often now. Thank you all so much for sticking around!**

**Xx**

**Teejay**

'So where is it that you're taking me?' Regina asked as she turned to notice Emma was still briskly walking away from the diner.

'Like I said: the best taco truck you've ever been to.' Emma dead panned.

'Doubtful.' Regina laughed.

'I mean I don't mean to presume on our short acquaintance, your majesty, but I do feel like out of the two of us I would probably know where to get the best street food.' Emma said with a scoff.

'Like I said, doubtful, Miss Swan.' Regina replied.

Emma's step faltered slightly, 'So now you know my last name. And here I thought you sad you weren't a stalker.'

'It's not my fault that your boss refers to you as "That Swan Girl"' Regina laughed nervously as her cheeks flushed slightly.

Emma seemed to ponder the other girl's reply for a second and then shrugged her shoulders. 'I guess that does seem like something she would say.'

'So is she a relation, then?' Regina asked.

'Huh?' Emma replied as the taco truck they were headed towards came into view.

'Granny, as you called her, is she a relation of yours?'

'I mean we're not actually related, but she pretty much is.' Emma said as she walked with purpose towards the truck and took in the menu plastered on the side.

'And you and the waitress…'

'Ruby.' Emma finished without looking at Regina.

'Ruby,' Regina coughed her name out, 'yes. So she's your…'

It was then that Emma seemed to grasp what Regina was getting at and couldn't help the wide eyed expression that crossed her face as she turned to meet her newly found companion. 'She's not my girlfriend if that's what you're getting at.' Emma said with a smirk.

'That's not what I meant.' Regina backtracked.

'Sure it's not.' Emma laughed as she raised an eyebrow at Regina, noting smugly the blush that crept across the brunette's face.

Eager to turn the conversation to anything other than that, Regina took in the menu and asked, 'So, what's good here?'

After getting their food, for which Regina tried to pay for, but was effectively cut off by Emma who insisted that she invited Regina and that she could pay for the next date if she wanted to. Regina had blushed again at Emma referring to their outing as a 'date' and had conceded to the blonde. They sat on a bench overlooking the water and finished their food. With a contented sigh, Regina said 'You're right, those tacos are pretty amazing.'

Emma smiled and looked at her. 'I told you! Trust me, I know where to get good, cheap food.'

'So, how long have you lived in LA?' Regina asked as she balled up the foil from her tacos and turned to look at Emma.

'About three years. I moved here right before I started college.' Emma said with a mouthful of carnitas. She swallowed and then continued. 'I honestly couldn't wait to get out of Bakersfield. Honestly, that place is a hellhole.'

'Bakersfield, huh? Do your parents still live there?' Regina asked.

'I…uh…don't really have any.' Emma said plainly, as if this were a question she had been asked so often that her answer was rehearsed. 'My last foster mom still does though.'

'Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—' Regina began.

'Don't worry about it. You didn't know.' Emma assured her. 'Have you always lived in LA?'

'My entire life.' Regina said. 'My father is a record executive and my mother sits on the boards of a few different organisations. When I'm home from school I live with them in Bel Air.' She admitted as if it was something to be embarrassed about.

'Sounds…busy.' Emma laughed, unsure of herself. 'You said when you're home from school. Where do you go?'

'I'll be going into my senior year at Juilliard in the fall.' Regina smiled.

'So you're saying you're gonna just leave me in a few weeks. Damn.' Emma laughed and nudged Regina playfully with her shoulder. 'So do you study voice there? Because not going to lie but you're a beautiful singer.'

Regina blushed. 'Thank you. And no, I actually study cello. Playing guitar and singing is just something I do for fun. Much to my mother's chagrin.'

'Cello. Interesting.' Emma pondered. 'I had a foster dad who used to make me listen to Yo-Yo Ma all the time. To be honest, that's really the only exposure I've had to any sort of classical instruments. Unless, of course, you count that one field trip I went on to go see the symphony when I was six.'

'Haha that counts, yes.' Regina laughed. 'I'm actually playing with the New York philharmonic this term. It's a part of my synthesis. And it helped that mother knows that Chairman of the Board and was able to pull some strings. They were at Harvard together.'

'Your mom sounds like a real piece of work.' Emma surmised.

Regina didn't answer. Instead, she simply looked out at the ocean and took a long, steadying breath. Emma watched her for a second, knowing that she had probably hit a nerve and desperately wanting to make Regina smile again. Though she had only known her for a grand total of two days, Emma found herself wanting to make the other woman laugh. That smile was one of the most beautiful things she had seen in a long while. 'Hey, I've got an idea.' Emma said as she stood up and extended a hand to Regina.

Regina looked up at her with a questioning look. 'What do you mean?'

'You haven't got any plans for the rest of the day, right?' Regina shook her head, so Emma continued. 'Well, then I've got an idea. Come on. Do you trust me?' She still had her hand extended to Regina.

Regina knew instantly that she did. She did trust Emma even though it made absolutely no sense considering their short acquaintance, but something deep in her soul told her that she could and she should trust Emma. So, she reached out her hand and took Emma's extended one, allowing herself to be pulled up off the bench. She noticed, quite happily, that Emma seemed to have no intention of letting her hand go.

'Where are we going?' Regina asked as she let Emma lead her down the street towards the entrance to the Santa Monica pier.

'I told you to trust me, your Majesty.' Emma said as she turned to Regina and winked. For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Regina blushed. How was it that this girl was affecting her so much? 'Don't worry you'll like it. I promise.' Emma punctuated her statement with a light squeeze of Regina's hand.


	5. Chapter 5

'The pier?' Regina asked as they begin to descend down the long, wooden walkway. 'That's where you're taking me? I guess this is as good of a time as any to let you know that I'm actually terrified of rides.' Regina stated matter-of-factly.

'We'll tackle the fear of rides on a different day.' Emma smiled, giving Emma's hand a light squeeze. 'But no, we're not going to the pier technically.'

'Then where _are _ we going?' Regina pushed.

'Do you always ask this many questions?' Emma laughed and nudged Regina with her shoulder.

'No.' Regina pouted. When Emma turned and raised an eyebrow at her, Regina relented. 'Ok, maybe.'

'Don't worry, your majesty. You're going to like it I promise. This is a spot that I find myself going to after work or on my break. It's kind of like a retreat for me.' Emma said as she led Regina off to the right of the pier and down a staircase that led to the sand.

'Why do you keep calling me that?' Regina asked.

Emma thought for a second before replying, 'I don't know. It just seems to suit you. You're all regal and everything. From the way you walk to how you style your hair. I remember the first time I saw you, I thought you looked like some sort of queen. Someone who shouldn't be sitting at the counter of a greasy diner drinking burned coffee.'

Regina blushed at the blondes admission and found herself snuggling closer to Emma. 'A queen, huh? I mean my father calls me princess.'

'Yeah but that's different. I imagine a princess as someone who is spoiled and has a lot to learn still. You just exude confidence and grace, like a queen.' Emma smiled at the gorgeous brunette next to her and was met with warm chocolate eyes smiling back at her.

'Well, if I'm a queen does that make you my knight?' Regina played along with Emma's game.

'A knight, huh?' Emma puffed her chest up. 'I like the sound of that. I'll be your knight in shinning armour.'

Regina laughed a deep, long laugh. 'Don't push it, Swan.'

Emma laughed and steered Regina to the right and under the pier. The tide was out, so there was ample room to walk under the large wooden structure with the roar of the ocean and the rumble from the rides above them mixing perfectly to create a sort of bubble from the rest of the world around them where families laid on the beach on either side. 'We're here.' Emma said, a bit of pride in her retreat lacing her voice.

'Under the pier?' Regina asked. 'This is your surprise?'

'I dunno.' Emma said, letting go of Regina's hand and kicking the wet sand beneath her feet. 'I like it. I'd never seen the ocean until I moved to Los Angeles, and when I first moved here I would come to the beach everyday. Then, one day while I was walking around, I found myself down here and kind of fell in love with it. It's quiet and loud at the same time, you know? Secluded and out in the open. It feels like a retreat without feeling claustrophobic.'

Regina realised from Emma's tone that she had hurt Emma's feelings, be it unknowingly, but still. So, Regina placed two fingers under Emma's chin, forcing the other girl to look at her. 'I love it.' She said with a genuine smile. 'Thank you for taking me here.'

With her words, Emma smiled a glorious, almost childlike smile that made Regina's stomach flip. What was this girl doing to her? Regina had never been one to go all doe-eyed over a girl, but this one was different. It had been years since Regina had even felt for someone like this. Too much focus on her art and her studies and keeping her mother happy had forced her to live the majority of her time alone for the past few years. Well, alone except for her friend Kathryn who was the second chair cellist at Juilliard, which meant they spent a lot of time together.

'You still with me?' Emma asked. It was only then that Regina noticed that Emma had said something to her and had also kicked off her tattered brown leather flip-flops and was currently squiggling her toes in the sand.

'Sorry, what was that, dear?' Regina backtracked and noticed with a smile that Emma blushed at the term of endearment.

'I asked if you want to dance with me.' Emma said, head bowed slightly.

'Dance?' Regina asked. 'There's no music.'

With that, Emma pulled Regina close despite the brunette's squeak of protest. 'Let me tell you something, your majesty. You don't always need music to dance.' Emma said as she began to sway slightly to the sound of the waves and the noise of the pier overhead.

With no more encouragement needed, Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's neck and began to sway with her. Emma locked her eyes onto Regina's and could feel herself getting lost in those eyes. Those eyes that seemed so old, so sad despite the fact that Regina couldn't be more than a year older than herself. Emma knew in that moment that she was a goner. That somehow this woman had made her to start to fall for her despite only knowing her for a grand total of two days. She remembered something that her last foster mother had told her when Emma had asked how you know when you're in love. _'When you know, you know.'_ The older woman had told her. Emma had asked because she was sure she was in love with her high school girlfriend. That particular relationship hadn't worked out, but the advice was still sound. And in this moment, Emma knew that Ingrid had been right. When you know, you know. And Emma couldn't help but feel that Regina was going to be important in her life. Because having her in her arms, twirling around in the sand, the length of their bodies pressed together it just felt right. Like Regina's tiny frame was made to fit between Emma's muscular arms.

Their moment was broken by Regina's phone buzzing in her small handbag that was slung across her body. 'Shit.' Regina cursed. She reached into the bag to pull out the phone and her face fell as she saw the caller id. 'Sorry I have to take this.' She apologised and took a few steps away from Emma so she could take the call.

As Emma watched, she could see the tension that had only a few moments ago left Regina's shoulders return and Emma didn't have to guess to know that it was her mother that Regina was talking to. 'Yes, I understand.' Regina said to the woman on the other end of the line. 'No, I'm out…does it matter, mother?…No, thank you, I'll call him myself…I will see you in about an hour with the traffic.' Then Regina hung up the phone and took a deep breath before turning back to Emma. 'I'm so sorry, but I have to go. I completely forgot about a dinner that I have to attend with my mother tonight at LACMA.'

Emma tried not to let her disappointment read across her face. 'It's ok. Duty calls and all that. I can imagine its difficult having parents with such high pressure jobs like that.'

Regina rolled her eyes. 'Somedays more than others.' She then laughed sarcastically. 'I don't even want to go, but mother is trying to get me into the Los Angeles philharmonic and back here to Los Angeles where she can "keep an eye on me"' Regina said, punctuating the last bit with air quotations.

'She sounds like a real piece of work.' Emma stated.

'I mean she is, but she means well…I guess.' Regina said, resigned to her fate.

'Well, let me walk you to your car.' Emma offered.

'Just let me text him and tell him to come and meet me by the entrance to the pier.' Regina said, reaching for her phone again and typing out a quick message.

'Is that the guy that I saw getting you into the car the other day?' Emma asked.

'Yes, Marco has been my driver since I was a little girl.' Regina said without even thinking.

'Well, your Majesty, let me get you safely to your chariot.' Emma said, offering Regina her arm in the most dignified way she knew how. 'I wouldn't be a very good knight if I didn't assure that my queen got to her coach safely.'

Regina smacked Emma's arm playfully, but looped her arm through hers and followed her back to the steps leading up to the entrance of the pier. 'Oh you think you're so charming don't you?'

'Charming, huh?' Emma repeated with a cocky grin. 'I could get used to that.'

'Calm down, Swan. Smug isn't a good look on you.' Regina smiled.

'Whatever you say, your majesty.' Emma laughed.

When they reached the edge of the pier, Emma could see the familiar black town car and the older gentleman standing beside it. Upon seeing them approach, he opened the back passenger door in anticipation of Regina entering the car. Before she could get in the car, Regina turned to Emma. 'Thank you for this afternoon. I really did have a good time.' She said, all of a sudden shy.

'I did, too. Thank you for indulging me.' Emma replied.

'The pleasure was all mine.' Regina smiled, her eyes looking up to meet Emma's. There was something hopeful in her eyes. Like she was waiting for Emma to say something more.

'Can I see you again?' Emma asked quickly, before clearing her throat and backtracking. 'Like properly? For dinner or something.'

Regina smiled at Emma's fumbling. 'I think I could do dinner…or something.' Regina reached out and grabbed Emma's mobile phone that was currently in the blonde's hand and typed in her number. 'I'm playing again tomorrow night, as well. If you'd like to come. I know that I'd like to see you.'

'I could do that.' Emma smiled back at her.

Regina then leaned forward and kissed Emma lightly on the cheek. 'Good day, Miss Swan.' She said lightly before turning and allowing Marco to help her into the car.

As the car pulled away, Emma stood slack jawed on the pier, her hand ghosting over the spot on her cheek where Regina had just kissed her. Oh yeah, she was screwed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: **_Hey guys! This chapter is longer than the other chapters because I really wanted to keep it moving and couldn't find an appropriate place to break it. Things are gonna start moving much faster from here. As always, thanks for reading and leave a review if you feel so inclined! _

_Xx_

_Teejay_

Emma showed up the next afternoon on Ruby's doorstep with a twelve pack of beer. She flicked at the cigarette in her other hand and waited for her friend to open the door. It was hot as hell outside and Emma was looking forward to hanging out in the air-conditioned interior of the other girl's apartment. When Ruby opened the front door Emma sighed and let out an 'Oh thank God,' as she pushed past her and straight into the lounge.

Ruby laughed. 'Nice to see you to, Em!' And followed the blonde into the lounge.

Emma had flopped onto the large, leather sofa and was ungracefully ripping open the twelve pack and pulling out two bottles. 'I mean it's hot as satan's ballsack out there, I figured you could use some day drinking as much as I did. Especially after that hell of a morning shift.'

'That bad, huh?' Ruby remarked. Emma had had to work the 4:30am shift and with the air-conditioning in the diner currently out of commission, by the 6:30am rush it was almost unbearable.

Emma didn't answer her. Instead she cracked open one of the bottles with her lighter before handing it to Ruby and then repeating the process with a bottle of her own. 'So you remember that girl? That one from the bar the other night. The singer.' Emma began rambling.

Ruby took a swig of her beer and tried to follow her friend's thought process. 'Miss Hotstuff with the gorgeous ass and the guitar? Yeah, I remember her.' Ruby said, but as the words left her mouth her eyes widened and she turned back to face her friend. 'Oh my god! Something happened. Did something happen?'

Emma laughed at her overly enthusiastic friend. 'I mean when I went in to grab my check from Granny's yesterday she was just there at the counter. Apparently, she'd been waiting for me to come in.'

'Shut up! Oh my sweet Oz, Emma!' Ruby squealed. 'She was stalking you at your place of business, she totally wants you.'

'You think so?' Emma asked, all of a sudden self-conscious.

'Oh I know so. Believe me. For a lesbian, Em, you're seriously clueless about women.' Ruby laughed. 'Maybe that's why you need me. I'm like your guru for all things pussy.' She added.

Emma rolled her eyes at her friend. 'I can't believe you just said that.'

'So when are you and Miss Hotstuff gonna see each other?' Ruby asked as she took a long swig of her beer.

'I mean she did agree to go out with me again.' Emma began.

Ruby almost choked on her beer. 'Wait! What do you mean, again?'

'Well when she came to the diner the other day, we kind of ended up spending the rest of the afternoon together. That is until her mother—who sounds like a real bitch by the way, called her and she had to go.' Emma took a long swig of her beer and put the empty on the table, then reached for another one. 'Something about a gala or a dinner or something at LACMA.'

'Gala, huh?' Ruby pondered. 'So not only is she a hot piece of ass but she's fancy too. Well done, street rat, you bagged yourself a princess.'

Emma snorted. 'Well I haven't "bagged" her, yet. But she danced with me under the pier and kissed my cheek when she left.'

'Well damn.' Ruby said, slack jawed. 'She's totally into you. So, you gonna call her or what?'

'I meant to, but then work happened this morning and I kind of forgot about it.' Emma sighed and took another long swig. Then, coughed as she remembered Regina's gig tonight. 'She did say that she's playing at that pub again or whatever tonight. Said I should stop by if I'm free.'

'Oh we're so totally going.' Ruby said as she jumped up onto the sofa cushions before launching her leggy frame over the back.

Emma laughed and then let out a shriek when she felt Ruby tugging her up by the end of her long, blonde hair. 'Ruby, what the f—'

'Come on, street rat, we have to brush your hair.' Ruby called as she dragged Emma towards the bathroom on the other side of the flat by her hair.

When Emma and Ruby arrived, Emma had been changed into one of Ruby's tank tops that was cut along the insides down to the bottom of her ribs. The only thing stopping her from exposing herself with the black, lace bandeau. Emma had outright refused Ruby's offer of a different pair of jeans; claiming that her own pair of black skinnys worked just fine with her combat boots and she would keep them on. But she did allow Ruby to brush and curl—well, recurl and tame her hair. Plus, and this was the _big_ compromise, Emma had allowed Ruby to put a very small amount of makeup on her. Ruby had tried to convince her that the grunge lesbian look went out of style in the late nineties, but Emma stood her ground.

'We should get a drink!' Ruby shouted back to Emma as they went down the stairs towards the bar. 'Then, we'll find Miss HotStuff!'

However, when they arrived at the bar Emma looked to her right to find Regina already standing there at the bar grabbing a bottle of water from the bartender. She was dressed in a pair of expensive looking black, 'distressed' jeans, an oversize chambray shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of camel coloured knee-high boots. Emma felt her mouth go dry as she tried to speak, but Regina was quicker. 'Emma!' She smiled and moved towards the two other girls at the bar. 'I was hoping you'd come.' She went to reach out to Emma, but suddenly took note of Ruby beside her with a wolfish grin on her face. 'Miss Lucas, is it? Pleasure to meet you properly.' Regina said cordially, reaching out to shake Ruby's hand.

Ruby's eyes went wide and she turned to Emma with an unreadable face as if she was stuck between shock and bursting out in hilarious laughter. Still, she took Regina's hand and with a cringeworthy accent replied, 'Quite right you are. But please call me Ruby.' Regina almost recoiled in what was the most composed look of embarrassment that Emma had ever seen.

'Do you need any help setting up?' Emma asked Regina, steering both brunettes' attention back to her.

Regina nervously tucked a lock her her hair behind her hair and shook her head. 'I'm actually all set up. I really should be getting up there now. I'll see you after though, Emma' And then she was gone.

Once Regina's back was turned, Emma promptly turned and punched Ruby in the arm. Hard. 'Ow! What the fuck man!' Ruby whined.

'You are such an asshole.' Emma laughed, scrubbing her hand down her face.

Ruby pulled her best innocent face. 'What? I knew she was fancy but Jesus Christ, Em, she's like fucking proper fancy.'

Emma pulled her back around to face the bar. 'Will you shut up and order a fucking drink already?' Emma was already embarrassed enough, she didn't want to chance Regina possibly hearing Ruby.

At almost halfway through Regina's act Emma was sure she was in some sort of trance. Regina had sung a lot more slow songs tonight. Classic ones from Fleetwood Mac and Norman Greenbaum. But, it was the cover of Toto's 'Africa' that had her swaying to the music. Emma swore that there had been a few times where Regina had made eye contact with her, but they were situated in the middle of the crowded bar as there were no tables available this time. When Regina announced that she was going to be taking a short break, Emma all but launched herself through the crowd towards the bar. Ruby stayed behind and laughed at her friend's haste.

Once reaching the bar, Emma sidled up to Regina's side while trying and simultaneously failing to be cool. 'So, can I buy you a drink?' Emma smiled.

Regina laughed. 'Unfortunately, Miss Swan, I don't drink while I'm performing.' She looked up at Emma through her long lashes. 'But, I think I could be persuaded after my set.'

Emma smiled down at her. 'I'm going to hold you to that, your Majesty. You know that's two drinks now you've run out on me on.' Emma held up her two fingers in front of the brunette for emphasis.

'Well I would hate to make this a recurring offence.' Regina laughed lightly, enjoying the banter. 'I promise after my set I will let you buy me a drink, Miss Swan.' And, in a moment that almost took Emma's breath away, Regina leaned in a kissed her on the cheek before reaching for the water bottle be offered to her and sauntered— yes, that's the word Emma had used in her head, sauntered back up to the small platform stage.

When Emma returned to Ruby, her friend had apparently stopped slathering attention on the handsome guy next to her to stop and watch Emma at some point. 'Holy fuck. She so wants you, Emma.' Ruby all but shouted. 'The thirst for this sexy swan is so real.'

Emma rolled her eyes. 'I'm serious, Rubes, cool it!' Ruby held up her hands in mock surrender and they both turned back towards the small stage to watch the rest of Regina's set. Emma found herself noticing that Regina sings about half of the time with her eyes closed and only looks up every once in a while. She couldn't help but wonder if she did the same thing when she played the cello, or if the more rigid setting of an orchestra forced her to be a a little more formal. And she still was hoping that every time Regina did look up that it was Emma's eyes she was searching for.

Ruby watched her friend slowly swaying to the music and smiled to herself. It was nice to see her friend happy, or at least on her way to being happy. Emma had been her friend for the past few years and it had always been an uphill battle with getting that stubborn blonde to smile or slow down and enjoy life. But here watching Emma's blonde hair sway with every song Regina played, Ruby knew that this was a good thing. That this other girl could possibly be the key to happiness that Emma had been looking for. True, it was awfully early to make any sort of assumption that this was forever when the two hadn't even gone on a proper date yet, but there was hope. And Ruby knew that's something Emma needed more than anything.

By the time Regina's set ended, Ruby was sitting at a table with some guy she has just met and Emma was waiting patiently at the bar, trying not to look to desperate or anxious at the same time. Unfortunately, playing it cool was something that Emma Swan had never been good at; no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise. In her effort to try and look cool, she completely missed that Regina had packed up her guitar and was now headed towards her. In an attempt not to startle the girl again, Regina put down her guitar case and simply reached for another bottle of water behind the bar where they were usually kept for her. The dark wood bangles she was wearing on her wrist clanged together as she did and that seemed to get Emma's attention because she turned towards Regina and smiled down at her.

'Hey! I was wondering if you were going to join me!' Emma smiled and Regina arched an eyebrow at her, but smiled back. 'What can I get you?' Emma took a sip of her beer in obvious attempt to hide her nervousness.

Regina smiled inwardly. 'Um, just a Jameson neat for me, please.'

Emma looked surprised at the brunette's order. 'Whiskey neat, huh?'

'I like whiskey. What can I say?' Regina blushed.

_I love you!_ Emma thought, but kept her mouth shut and turned to the bartender to order Regina a drink. When he returned she paid him in cash and handed the drink to Regina. Regina smiled and thanked Emma. 'So you're kind of amazing do you know that?' Regina raised her eyebrow at Emma again and Emma sputtered to backtrack, nearly choking on the beer she had just taken a sip of. 'I mean onstage. I loved your version of "Africa." No lie one of my favourite songs ever!'

Regina looked down, trying to hide her blush in her raven hair. 'Thank you! I have a huge love for classic rock. My dad is a huge rock and roll fan so it was pretty much all I listened to when I was growing up.'

'That's awesome!' Emma said. 'You said he works in music. Does he still work in rock?'

Regina took a sip of her drink and nodded her head. 'He does, yes. He keeps talking about retiring, but so far he's still at it.' Regina laughed. 'If I hadn't gone with studying the cello and classics, I imagine that I would probably have gone into the recording industry too.'

'You still could you know.' Emma offered.

Regina frowned slightly and took a long sip of her whiskey. 'I guess.' Eager to change the conversation, Regina said, 'I'm happy you came tonight. I didn't think you were going to since you never called me.' There was a teasing tone to her voice and Emma smiled.

'In my defence, it's only been like a day!' Emma laughed. 'I was trying to play it cool, you know? Like Han Solo would or something.'

'Han who?' Regina asked confused.

'Wait! Hold on! Are you telling me you don't know who Han Solo is?' Emma asked, seemingly deeply perturbed by Regina's response.

Regina laughed. A deep, full laugh that had her throwing her head back with the force of it. 'I'm joking with you, hot shot.' She laughed again at her own allusion to 'Star Wars'. 'I've seen "Star Wars" about a thousand times.'

Emma held her hand over her chest and took a few calming breaths while she returned Regina's smile. 'Ok, thank the gods. I would hate to have to end this before I even take you on a proper date!' Emma laughed.

'Big "Star Wars" fan, huh?' Regina asked, taking the final sip of her whiskey.

'Only probably the biggest! I still have the original VHS tapes that my social worker gave me for my eighth birthday!' Emma said.

Regina raised her eyebrows in surprise at Emma's surge in enthusiasm. 'Noted.' Then, with a glance at her wrist Regina stood up. 'Well, Miss Swan, I hate to cut this night short, but I have to be up for a rehearsal tomorrow morning.'

'One of these days I'm gonna get you to hang around with me for more than an hour.' Emma laughed.

Regina picked up her guitar and her designer handbag and laughed, too. 'Well in order for that to happen, Miss Swan, you'd actually have to call me and ask me out.'

'Ok ok I get it. Protocol and all that. Can't just assume that a queen would go out with a girl like me just because I want her to.' Emma stated.

'Quite right you are.' Regina agreed.

'Can I walk you to your car?' Emma asked, looking down as she kicked her boot against the floor.

Regina laughed that deep laugh again and nodded her head. 'All ten steps out of the bar, yes you may.'

Emma smiled back at her and grabbed her guitar case from her and headed up the stairs back out onto the street. She saw across the street that Regina's driver, Marco, already walking towards them. He nodded politely to Emma and then took the guitar case from her and headed back to the car. Regina turned to Emma and smiled softly. 'Thank you again for coming tonight. It was nice to see a familiar face in the crowd.'

Emma smiled back at her. 'The pleasure was all mine.'

With a slight nod of her head, Regina said, 'Goodnight, Miss Swan.'

'Goodnight, Regina.' Emma replied.

Regina turned to walk towards the car and Emma quickly pulled her phone out of her back pocket and found Regina's contact information and hit 'Call.' Not even in the car yet, Regina pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen confused before picking it up and turning back to face Emma. 'Hello?'

'Hey, Regina! It's Emma.' Emma smiled from across the street.

Regina cocked her head in Emma's direction. 'Yes, I'm aware.' Despite her questioning tone, Regina couldn't help the small smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.

'So, you told me I was supposed to call you. And this is me calling you!' To punctuate her statement, Emma gave a wave from across the street but made no moves to come closer. 'Listen, I know you have a rehearsal tomorrow, but could I take you to dinner on Friday night?'

Regina smiled at Emma's apparent nervousness. 'I would very much enjoy that, Miss Swan.'

Emma had to suppress the urge to fist bump the air and instead just ran her fingers through her hair. 'Awesome. So, I'll text you tomorrow night with more info?'

'I'll keep a lookout for your texts.' Regina said as she ducked into the car, but immediately after Marco shut the door behind her she rolled down the window to still keep eye contact with Emma.

'Good night, your Majesty.' Emma smiled.

'Good night, hot shot.' Regina replied, before rolling up the window just as the car drove off.


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note:**

_**Hello Lovelies, **_

_**I want to apologise so much for the delay in getting these chapters up. Real life has gotten in the way so many times with this story and it kills me. I am going to try and get chapters up faster now that work is on hiatus for the summer, but please don't be cross with me if it doesn't happen as quickly as you'd like. **_

_**That being said, I love you all. Leave us a review if you like this chapter**_

**_Xx Teejay_**

Emma drove through the Bel Air hills. She was definitely lost. 'Fuck.' She cursed as she caught a glance of her phone that was plugged into the tape deck. She was definitely going to be late. She had texted Regina yesterday, as she promised she would, and they had agreed that Emma was going to pick her up from her house in Bel Air around 6:30pm. That, Emma was finding, was easier said than done. All the houses were hidden behind huge hedges and trees or just high walls in general; and apparently it wasn't the custom to put house numbers where they could be seen. Finally, after what seemed like the fourth time she went around the narrow winding streets, Emma was pretty sure she found the place. She pulled up to a house with large hedges around it and a narrow driveway that led a little more up a hill. As the house came into view, Emma gulped. She knew Regina must be pretty rich but she wasn't expecting her to be _this _rich.

The house was, for lack of a better word, sprawling. A large, Spanish style palazzo that looked like there was more than enough room for a whole neighbourhood of people that lived there and not just Regina and her parents. Emma pulled her vintage yellow bug in front of the house on the circular driveway next to a black Bentley and felt even more self-conscious now as she killed the engine and it sputtered to a stop. Running her fingers nervously through her hair one last time, Emma got out of the car and walked towards the front door. Her heart was thumping in her chest and she was kind of wishing that she had worn something fancier. In her best red leather jacket, dark green button up, dark jeans, and her favourite brown knee-high boots she knew she looked good, but couldn't help the butterflies in her stomach as she rang the bell. The sound echoed and Emma waited.

A moment later an older man in a polo shirt and khaki's opened the door. He was a nice looking man with a warm face and he smiled at Emma. 'You must be Emma.' He said kindly. 'Please come in! Regina will be down in just a second.'

He stepped aside and Emma entered the huge house, shoving her hands in her pockets awkwardly. 'Thanks!' Emma muttered and realised she was now standing in a huge foyer rocking back and forth on her heels and ran her hand through her hair again. The house was beautifully decorated in a classic style and Emma, once again, felt out of place.

'Please come sit down.' The man motioned again and Emma followed him into a large, sunken sitting room off to the left. She sat down across from him when he spoke again, 'So sorry, how terribly rude of me. I'm Henry Mills, Regina's father.' He stood to shake her hand across the low table and Emma shot to her feet.

'Nice to meet you, sir.' Emma said, concentrating on shaking his hand firmly and hoping he didn't notice her hands were shaking. She'd never really been a 'meet the parents' kind of girl and definitely not one on the first date she was taking a girl on. _Well, that's what you get for going after a princess._ She thought to herself.

Henry laughed and sat back down across from her. 'Please call me Henry!' He said as he settled back into his seat. 'So my daughter tells me that you are at USC?' He inquired.

'Yes, si—Henry. I'm headed into my Junior year.' Emma answered nervously.

'What do you study?' He asked.

'Social Work and Anthropology.' Emma replied hoping that he wouldn't ask her why social work. She really didn't want to explain that she's a former foster kid the first time meeting Regina's loaded, educated, and, most likely, well-bred father.

'A noble, pursuit. We need more people in the world who are interested in taking care of the most vulnerable parts of society.' Henry said sincerely and the sentiment made Emma smile.

Just as she was about to respond, however, footsteps were heard down the large wooden staircase and both Henry and Emma looked to see Regina approaching. Emma stood and smiled as Regina rounded the corner and saw the two of them in the lounge. Wearing a simple knee length black dress and high heeled boots, Regina was a vision, as always. She cocked her head at the sight, but Emma's face cued her into the fact that there was no interrogation going on. At least not the kind Emma would receive from her mother. Henry got up and walked over to Regina, kissing her on the cheek. 'Tu ves hermosa, mija!'

'Thank you, Daddy.' Regina blushed. 'I hope you haven't been harassing Emma too much.'

Henry made a gesture of mock indignation before cracking another smile that Emma noted made he and Regina look a lot alike. 'Of course not, mija. We were just chatting about Emma's schooling and such.'

'Mmhm. I'll believe you this time.' Regina laughed. She then looked to Emma. 'Shall we?'

Emma suddenly remembered the reason she was here and the night that she had planned for the two of them. Clearing her throat to find her voice, she responded. 'We shall. After you, your Majesty.' And ushered her towards the door.

As they neared it, however, they both heard Henry's voice from behind them. 'I expect you to have her home by midnight, young lady.'

Emma stopped in her tracks and turned around, cheeks flushed red, mouth sputtering to try and find something to say. Henry at that moment burst out laughing. 'I'm only kidding, Emma. You girls go. Have a good time!'

'Thank you, si—Henry!' It was going to take Emma a minute to stop the reflex of calling everyone older than her _sir _or _ma'am_.

Regina rolled her eyes, unimpressed by her father's attempt at humour. 'Goodnight, Daddy!' She laughed and ushered Emma out the door. Emma opened up the car door for Regina and then ran around the car to settle into the driver's seat. 'Sorry about that.' Regina apologised, head in her hands.

'Don't worry about it!' Emma replied genuinely. 'Your dad seems nice.'

'Just be happy it was Daddy and not Mother.' Regina said. 'Otherwise, you probably would've had a completely different experience.' Emma visibly gulped, and Regina took her hand across the shifter. 'Where to?'

Emma was pulled out of her thoughts and smiled back at Regina. 'It's a surprise.' She then started the engine and the old bug sputtered to life and they drove out the driveway back into the twisting turns of Los Angeles. They drove for a few minutes through the city before Emma headed them north on the Pacific Coast Highway. She took a look over at Regina who was scrolling through Emma's phone trying to pick music, only stopping every few tracks to make some snarky remark about Emma's music taste.

Half an hour later, they pulled up outside a fancy looking restaurant right on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. 'We're here.'Emma smiled.

'Oh I love this place! Daddy and I have brunch here all the time.' Regina said, but Emma could tell that there was a bit of disappointment in her voice. Everyone had always treated Regina like a princess and here Emma was doing the very same thing.

Emma got out of the car and went around to Regina's door and opened it for her before giving the keys to the valet. 'Thanks, Leroy.' Emma said to the older, grumpy looking man.

'Friend of yours?' Regina asked lightly as Emma took her hand and led her into the restaurant.

Emma shrugged and lead her in through the restaurant and past the hostess stand. She threw out a greeting to the two young women behind the desk, but made no attempt to stop and get a table. Confused, Regina simply followed behind Emma until they reached the entrance to the kitchen. 'Hang on a sec.' Emma instructed before she kissed Regina on the cheek and disappeared into the kitchen. Doing as she was told, Regina simply leaned against the wall near the server station and looked around the restaurant. No one seemed to notice her presence and for that she was grateful because she as sure she probably looked a little awkward.

Lost in her own thoughts, Regina didn't realise that Emma had resurfaced from the kitchen with a blanket under one arm and a basket in the other. 'Our table is ready, m'lady.' Emma said as she indicated the items in her hands. 'This way, your majesty.' Emma then started back into the middle of the restaurant and towards the gate that led down to a private beach. Regina closed her mouth, still agape with stunned silence, and followed quickly after the blonde.

When Regina met her at the bottom of the stairs, Emma was already spreading the blanket out on the sand. Emma reached out her hand to Regina and helped her sit down on the large, soft blanket. 'I figured fancy restaurant was too cliche for you, your majesty. But I can't cook and you're a classy gal, so I thought we could do a little bit of the fancy and a little bit of…well…something else.' Emma blushed as she realised she was rambling.

'Emma,' Regina breathed 'this is amazing! How did you set this up?'

Emma shrugged. 'I used to wash dishes here for the first year that I lived in LA. Then, I moved up to a prep cook. The chef likes me I guess. Told him I was taking a pretty girl out and if he had any suggestions. He told me he'd handle it and to come back to the kitchen when I got here.' She was emptying out the basket as she spoke and even Emma's eyes went a little bit wide at the contents of the basket. There were two perfectly portioned plates of salmon with veggies, two salads, a cold plate with oysters on the half shell, a dessert that was obviously for sharing, and a bottle of red wine. 'I guess he likes me more than I thought.'

'This must have cost you a fortune!' Regina beamed as she reached for the plate of oysters. She sucked one into her mouth and moaned. 'These are so good! Here, you try.' Regina grabbed another one and handed it over to Emma. Emma's lips touched the shell and she too smiled at the delicacy.

'You're right that's pretty fucking awesome!' Emma smiled at Regina. She opened the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass from the bottle. 'Only the best for the most beautiful woman in Los Angeles.' Emma said as she raised her glass to clink against Regina's. Regina cocked an eyebrow at her over her glass, taking a long drink of the dark liquid but didn't reply. Instead she took another oyster and then grabbed a plate of salad.

They ate their dinner slowly. Emma had planned the evening so that they could sit for a while and watch the sunset as it dipped beneath the water. The conversation flowed easily as they drank up the rest of the bottle of wine. They talked about whatever came to their minds, laughing at each other and enjoying the cool night air. Regina told Emma what it was like to live in New York and about how she would rather play for a chamber orchestra than a symphony. Emma listened intently, loving the way that she could see the passion in the other girl's chocolate eyes. Emma told Regina about how she wanted to work in foster care but added anthropology because she loved the study of indigenous cultures, especially South American. 'Always fancy yourself a bit of an Indian Jones wannabe, I see.' Regina smirked as she picked at the cheesecake they were given for desert.

Emma laughed and threw her head back. 'Am I that transparent?'

'You can't fool me, Swan.' Regina smiled. 'I'm very perceptive. Plus, with all the boots and the leather jackets your Harrison Ford obsession can be seen from space.'

Emma looked down at her jacket as if she'd forgotten she had it on and attempted a frown that ended up looking more like a pout. 'I like this jacket.'

Regina's heart clenched at Emma's wounded puppy look and she reached to grab Emma's hand. 'Relax, hotshot. I think it looks good on you.' And before she could stop it, Regina shivered as the cold wind whipped up from off the ocean.

Emma caught sight of her dates obvious cold and took off said jacket and placed it around Regina's shoulders. 'Well I think it looks better on you.'

Emma hadn't moved her arm from around Regina's shoulders and neither complained or moved. Enjoying the closeness. Regina smiled and nuzzled into the jacket, pulling it tighter around her. 'It smells like you.' She almost whispered. If Emma hadn't been listening she almost would have missed it.

'And what exactly is that, your majesty?' Emma questioned.

Regina took another deep inhale of the jacket and thought about it for a second, closing her eyes. 'Hmmm…like your cologne, whiskey, and tobacco. I like it. It's masculine but still feminine. Kind of like you.' Regina smiled at her date.

Emma leaned closer, turning to face Regina. 'I'm going to kiss you now, Regina Mills.' She stated.

Regina's voice was barely above a whisper as she replied, 'I'd be upset if you didn't, Miss Swan.'


End file.
